When it was announced that a new studio was bringing The Terminator back the big screen, the internet naturally and rightfully let out an exasperated sigh. This is a series, after all, that has become a shadow and parody of its former self, thanks to Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and Terminator: Salvation. How on earth could new life be breathed into a series that had fallen so far from grace? You’d be forgiven if you met the announcement with the side-eye that it probably deserved.
While many of those fears were dampened when the first teaser was released several months ago, it wasn’t quite enough to quell all of the worries. Those worries have been answered with a new trailer that debuted today that makes it look as though Terminator: Genisys will, at the very least, be absolutely fun as all hell.
The new trailer gives us a bit more insight into the direction of the film, which is playing with the time travel motif harder than any of its predecessors. From all appearances, it seems as though Genisys is living up to the promise of being a hybrid sequel and reboot.
Emilia “The Mother of Dragons” Clarke is stepping into the iconic role of Sarah Conner who has, somehow, made contact with a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) earlier than her initial contact in Terminator. This results in Sarah being not only aware of the arrival of future baby-daddy Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney, in the role originated by Michal Biehn) but fully prepared as well. The once and (probably) future lovebirds, along with Sarah’s pet Terminator, do battle with a new breed of Terminator who may or may not be a hybrid of her future son and advanced nano-technology.
These sweeping changes not only undo the travesties of Rise of the Machines and Salvation but seemingly the first two movies as well, setting up a new universe for the filmmakers to play around in. It’s a risky approach, to be sure; this kind of scorch the earth revisionism is sure to piss off the purists of the world who just wish Hollywood would leave well enough alone. However, this might also be the very thing the series needs in order to have new life.
Time will tell whether or not this gambit pays off, and there’s certainly going to be a vast swath of moviegoers who are unimpressed and/or angry at the changes Genisys seems to have in store. You have to admit though: It’s looking like it just might be pretty damn badass.
Terminator: Genisys opens July 1
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